Redsand Canyon I could let you have it

Kallik could say with absolute certainty that kindness never had anything to do with his surviving life on his own. In fact, he had learned early that to rely on kindness was to tempt death. It was why it was such a foreign concept to him now and why he had so much trouble believing the compassionate healer when she tried to assure him that he did deserve it. 

He was beginning to see that he was not the only one who suffered. He would have noticed it sooner had he not been so concerned with his own story. Her words made him realize that he needed to show some kindness of his own. Whether or not the realization would follow him out of here, he didn't know. It was easy to fall back behind his icy walls when faced with the familiar routines of his life as a soldier. 

I will try to remember that, the auxillary told her after a thoughtful silence. I was alone for a long time, so these things are not always easy for me. When his only concern had been survival, it helped him to be antisocial; it was hard to break away from that mindset.